Breakdown of Ik hoop dat het zal lukken.
ik
I
het
it
zullen
shall / will
hopen
to hope
dat
that (conjunction)
lukken
to succeed / to work out
Questions & Answers about Ik hoop dat het zal lukken.
This lesson is about using te + infinitive, so why is there no te after hoop?
We use a te + infinitive clause when the subject stays the same, like Ik hoop te komen (I hope to come). But here, the subject changes from ik (I) to het (it). When you introduce a new subject, you have to use a regular dat (that) clause instead. Furthermore, the helper verb zullen (will) never takes te.
Why are both zal and lukken pushed to the very end of the sentence?
Because the word dat (that) starts a subordinate clause. As a refresher from earlier lessons: in Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs are pushed to the end of that clause. So instead of keeping the verbs near the subject, both zal and the infinitive lukken go to the back.
How exactly does the verb lukken work?
Lukken means to succeed or to work out. Unlike in English where a person succeeds (I succeed), in Dutch, the situation or task itself succeeds. That is why you will almost always see it paired with het (it) or a specific noun as the subject, as in het zal lukken (it will work out).
Why do we use zal here instead of zullen for the future tense?
Zal is the singular form of the verb zullen (will/shall). Because the subject of the second clause is the singular word het (it), you must use zal. You only use zullen for plural subjects like wij (we) or zij (they).
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